The Venezuelan government has retained control of a prison that was once under the rule of the country’s most powerful gang, which built its own mini-city within the prison walls with a zoo, a club and a swimming pool.
The government deployed 11,000 police and soldiers on Wednesday to Tocorón prison, which doubled as the headquarters of the Tren de Aragua in north-central Aragua state.
The notorious criminal group set up small shacks where some members lived with their families and had access to satellite television and internet.
The Tren de Aragua Zoo is said to have housed tigers, lions, crocodiles and pumas, challenged by prisoners and the authority of government officials.
The gang had its own nightclub called Tokio (Spanish for Japanese city), where the inmates regularly held parties and in a restaurant the prisoners ate with their visitors. There was also a baseball field, a room where gambling took place and another where inmates illegally mined cryptocurrencies.
The Tren de Aragua built an underground swimming pool that was located next to a children’s play area.
Venezuelan security forces raided the Tocorón prison center in Aragua state on Wednesday as part of an operation to take control of the prison
Inmates at the Tocorón prison center lined up outside the prison building before authorities began moving them to other detention centers
The Tren de Aragua gang had its own zoo in prison. It reportedly used its lions, tigers, cougars and crocodiles to threaten prison inmates and government officials
Venezuelan police confiscated dozens of motorcycles that the Tren de Aragua had in prison for personal use
“I congratulate the more than 11,000 members of the FANB (National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela) and the police for the successful intervention of the Tocorón prison center,” President Nicolás Maduro wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “We are on the way to a Venezuela without criminal gangs!”
Bodycam footage of the raid showed police and soldiers storming one of the prison buildings where a tunnel had been built. The underground passage had several exits, including one that led to a lake on the shore of which three wooden rafts were stationed.
“We have put an end to the irregularities in this area, we have discovered some tunnels, in this tunnel system we have prevented a mass exodus and we have checked all those who were deprived of their liberty,” said Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos.
Security forces arrested two inmates who escaped from prison during the crackdown, which the Venezuelan regime dubbed Operation Liberation Cacique Guaicaipuro.
The government began moving inmates to other prisons late this afternoon as families complained they were left in the dark about their new location.
Tren de Aragua leader Héctor “Niño” Guerrero was reportedly warned days in advance that Tocorón prison would be raided and fled with other gang members
Police officers and soldiers inspect motorcycles found at the Tocorón prison center in Aragua, Venezuela, on Wednesday
Prisoners at the Tocorón prison center sit next to each other after 11,000 police and soldiers stormed the prison and retook control on Wednesday
Local business owners were told to close their businesses the afternoon before the operation, news agency NTN24 reported.
Hours before security forces entered the prison, power and telephone signals were temporarily interrupted.
The Communications Ministry said Thursday afternoon that at least 60 fugitive detainees had been arrested and that security forces were working to find the other escapees, but the exact number was not disclosed.
The Venezuelan Prison Observatory, a non-governmental organization, expressed doubts about the government’s actions at the Tocarón prison center, where the number of inmates had been reduced from 5,000 to 1,500, and believes that the gang leadership has reached an agreement to give up its power.
“An intervention in which they let the ‘leaders’ go cannot be called successful, especially when it was the ‘leaders’ themselves who handed (control of) Tocorón,” the group said.
However, the government remains silent about the whereabouts of Tren de Aragua leader Héctor “Niño” Guerrero, 39.
Guerrero was informed of the impending raid and fled with several other high-ranking gang members earlier this week, according to a voice message obtained by media outlets.
Two inmates were arrested Wednesday after escaping from the Tocorón Penitentiary in Aragua, Venezuela, according to Venezuelan authorities
Weapons, rifles, ammunition and grenades were found during a search of the Tocorón prison center in Aragua, Venezuela, on Wednesday
He was serving a 17-year sentence for murder and drug trafficking and had previously escaped from prison, but reportedly had the freedom to leave prison whenever he wanted.
Under Guerrero, the Tren de Aragua enriched itself through extortion, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and arms and drug trafficking.
The gang has around 5,000 members and is present in the states of Bolivar, Carabobo, Guárico as well as Lara, Miranda and Sucre.
Tren de Aragua members have also settled outside Venezuela’s borders in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.